Who's The One
by nmbr1potterfan
Summary: Ron likes Hermione, Hermione is pretty sure she likes Ron. Ginny and Harry like each other.It seems to good to be true. That's because it is.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 Chapter 1

It was Sunday and Ron sat reading a book on his bed. Harry burst in the dorm obviously upset.

"What's wrong with you?" Ron questioned.

"I'm mad at myself!" Harry almost screamed.

Ron gave Harry a puzzled look so Harry continued his story.

" I was soooooooo close to asking Ginny out but I was too much of a coward to do it! I think she might of said yes too but I was too afraid." Harry explained then sat down on his bed with his head in his hands.

"I think I have the answer to all your questions" Ron said mater-of-factly.

"Ya? What?" Harry muttered sounding unconvinced.

"This Book." Ron said as he grinned widely

Harry looked up from his hands and walked over to Ron's bed. He grabbed the book (rather rudely) from Ron's grasp.

The cover read in curvy gold writing "The Cool way to be romantic"

"How will this rubbish help me?" Harry questioned

"You can be cool and romantic around her until she really likes you then you will have no problem asking her out!" Ron said excitedly then shivered when he remembered that it was his sister Harry wanted to romance.

Harry thought about that and then agreed.

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The Next day Harry and Ron went out of their dorms

confidently. They were now masters at being cool and romantic (a.k.a they finished the book)

Harry saw Ginny sitting in an armchair in the common room. He remembered rule number one: _Tell them how pretty they are_. He walked up to Ginny and said, " Wow Ginny you look amazing today!"

"Thanx" she said with a smile and a wink.

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Ron found Hermione in the library (like always). He also remembered rule number one: _Tell them how pretty they are_.

He slowly walked up to Hermione 'the cool way' and said "Hermione you look brilliant today!"

"oh… thanks Ron!" She sputtered out and then hid herself behind the safty of her book while her face flushed a flattering red.

'_That book really works after all!' _Ron thought to himself.

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**Great Hall at lunch:**

Ron sat next to Hermione while Harry sat next to Ginny.

When the food appeared they dug in imediatly. It had been a long day so far and they were all very hungery.

Then Ron remembered rule number two: _Ask them about their thoughts and idea; it makes them feel important. _

Ron turned to Hermione and questioned, "So how are your thoughts and ideas?"

Hermione turned to face him with a very puzzled expression. "What?"

Ron blushed at his realization of how stupid that must have sounded. "Oh nothing" He said sheepishly as he forked a heaping mound of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

Then Harry remembered rule number two. He didn't know how to ask a question like that without it sounding stupid so he just kept talking normally with Ginny.

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**Potions class:**

"So how has the book been working for you?" Ron whispered

"Actually, really good!" Harry said

Snape was boring them with another lecture. Does he enjoy making kids bored or something?

"How is it working for you, Ron?"

"Ok, I think" Ron mumbled, remembering the stupid question he asked hermione at lunch.

"How are we supposed to make a complicated potion like that that is clear and has no scent or taste?" Ron complained in a whiny voice as he stared down at his potions book.

"I think we should just full it with water, how can you tell the difference?" Harry said jokingly.

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**Girls dorm:**

"Hey Ginny" Hermione asked, "Have you noticed anything different about Harry and Ron?"

"Harry said I looked pretty today…"Ginny sighed with a dreamy look in her eyes.

"Ya, Ron told me that too! Hermione said excitedly.

Ginny laughed again. She knew how much Hermione liked Ron. But she still couldn't stop thinking about Harry.

"I wish that Harry would ask me out soon! I'm sick of waiting! He's so… so.. Irresistible!!" Ginny confessed and sprawled out onto her bed. Her eyes still glazed over as if she was still is some far-off fantasy.

Hermione laughed but secretly wished that Ron would ask her out too. For the same reason.

"Psh, if Harry doesn't ask me out soon, I think I'll have to ask him myself." Ginny stated, although she still wasn't all there. Half of her somewhere far away, probably with Harry.

"Omg you should! Everyone knows that he would totally say yes!" Hermione said as she heaved a large book out of her bag. Ginny was so outgoing, and Hermione was a smidgeon jealous of this fact. For Ginny had had at least 10 more boyfriends than Hermione and she was a year younger. Hermione would never tell Ginny this of coarse, but she wished that she would be able to find that confidence to that she'd have the courage to ask someone out herself.

"Well, I hope you don't mind Gin, but I have to go study. I'll talk to you later! Tell me right away if anything happens with Harry!" She called over her shoulder and walked out of the room, leaving Ginny staring at the ceiling of the room as if it was a prized possession.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

It was about 6:30 on a Saturday morning and the sun had just risen and cast it's light onto the castle.

(Ginny's POV)

Ginny walked into the Common room with the kind of determined look a person on fear factor would have, once being told that they had to eat a bucket of worms.

"Oh Crap" she muttered as she saw Harry coming down from his dorm._ 'I should probably ask him now while no one is here' _She thought, glancing around the empty room.

"Hello Ginny!" Harry said with a little too much enthusiasm, then caught himself and assumed an odd laid-back posture.

Ginny's mouth almost fell open when she saw him coming towards her. His hair long and messy, perfectly framing his face, which now held a smile that could kill. But those eyes! The sun that was streaming in from the window next to her seemed to make his eyes glow more than normal.

"Oh, heyy" she said after recovering herself. "how are you doing?"

(A/N: Harry's POV)

"Good" Harry gasped, taking in the sight of Ginny in a green tank top and jean mini skirt. '_It should be illegal for a girl to look that good' _he thought '_how's a guy supposed to think when that's standing right in front of him?'_. His eyes glanced over her figure again which had become much more curvy then he remembered.

"Um…..Harry Well I was wondering if, well, you know, well, you see……..um…." Ginny hesitated to try to find the right words.

This was weird. Ginny was usually very confident and outspoken. It was himself that was more commonly known as the shyer one.

Was Ginny trying to ask him out! Harry's heart pounded harder than ever. _'Wait, isn't the guy supposed to ask the girl? It would be wicked lame if she asked me'. _Harry thought confidently.

Harry was about to ask her when he realized what he was doing and then he was too at a loss for words. He'd never been very good at this stuff.

"Ginny" He managed to get out "Would you like to go out with me?"

A look of panic rushed over Harry's face. What if she said no? Harry stared intently at his shoes, pretending to be interested in them. His hands had become sweaty and he wiped them on his jeans while he continued to look down.

He was staring so intently at his shoes that he didn't see Ginny advancing toward him. He only realized her presence when she about 2 feet away from him.

"I'd love to" she whispered to him with a sexy half-smile on her face. She winked at him, then glided up to the Girls Dorm. Harry could have sworn her heard a little "YESSSS!" as she walked up the stairs. He smiled at this, then ran up to his own dorm to tell Ron.

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(Ron's POV)

"Bloody essay" I muttered to myself. "Snape should go die in a hole".

"RON!!" I heard Harry scream from the hallway.

"WHAT??" I screamed back. I really wasn't in the mood to exert any energy at all, and last I checked, movement required a lot of it.

Harry burst in the room grinning from ear to ear.

"Ron…she...say…thing…out…ask…yes…Ginny!" Harry sputtered out taking large gasps of air between each word. It looked like he had sprinted all the way up the stairs. All 462 of them. Yes, I've counted.

"What?" I asked, looking at Harry with an expression of utter confusement.

"Asked…I…Ginny…Yes!" Harry said and then stopped to think of a coherent sentence.

"I asked Ginny out and she said yes!" Harry finally said with a proud look on his face. His shoulders were pulled back, and his head held up high.

"Oh, that's great mate!" I said trying to sound enthusiastic but it came out sounding sarcastic.

Harry hadn't heard my last statement though, because he was too busy being excited. He jumped up and down, shouted and did his 'Harry Dance', which just about scared me for life.

"I'm happy for you, Harry! But could you please be excited somewhere else? I've got to do this and it's taking me forever!" I said with a large yawn that I didn't even attempt to cover.

"Oh never mind, I'll just go to the library" I mumbled as Harry still celebrated by making silent "Cha-ching" motions.

I shuffled across the cold wooden floor, put my slippers on and passed Dean on my way out. I could hear Harry excitedly talking about how he got the "hottest girl in the school" on my way down. Ew. I hated when they talked about my sister like that.

I looked down at myself. Oh Joy. Still in my nice little stripped PJs. Ug, oh well. Who's going to be up now anyway?

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**Library:**

(Hermione's POV)

"Well, I got this weeks homework done" hermione said to herself as she closed an extremely large brown book. She scooped up her parchment and quills and started for the door.

She loved the library in the morning. It was so peaceful and quite, and it gave her an unexplainable feeling of freedom. The kind you get on the last day of school and realize that the next 2 months are all to yourself. She closed her eyes and breathed in the sweet warm air as if someone was baking cookies.

BAM

Oops! She had accidentally hit someone head on and had fallen back onto the ground. By the sound of it the other person had caught themselves on all fours so that they wouldn't land on her.

"Stupid, Mudblood!" Sneered a cold icy voice.

Hermione lifted her head to find Malfoy's face unnaturally close to hers. Bow-chica-wow-wow. When did he get hott?

"Oh! Malfoy!" She had not expected him to be there.

He hovered there for a moment looking at her as though he was seeing right through her eyes and into her soul. Although his eyes were bright, they seemed deep. Portraying some emotion that she couldn't quite translate.

"Oh sorry Hermione" He said and (to her disappointment) got up. He extended a hand out to her. She, however, got up by herself.

'_It's Malfoy, he'd probably just drop me after I was halfway up.' _She thought.

They were old enemies. Everyone knew that. But somehow, right now it seemed as though this wasn't the Malfoy she hated. Ha! What a silly idea. Malfoy will be Malfoy will be Malfoy. There's no changing that. What's so special about the 6th year that things would change? Nothing. Exactly.

Once she had stood up she looked around her for her books. She had dropped them when she ran into Malfoy. _'I could have sworn they were….'_

"Looking for these?" Malfoy asked. She spun around to look at him and sure enough, he was holding her books.

"Give them back Malfoy!" She glared at him. He'd always been stealing her stuff, and forced her to do embarrassing things to get them back. She remember the one time she had to ask Professor McGonagall how her sex life was doing to get her transfiguration homework back.

"Whoa, calm down, I was just picking them up for you." He said, slightly taken aback by her anger.

He gave the books to her with a hott little smile on his face. "See you around Granger" he said swiping her sleeve on his way past. Dam he smelled good. "Ya… See you" She called after him.

'_Ok, I'm confused'_

(Same thing Ron Style)

I walked down the familiar hallways feeling very comfortable in my soft Pajamas. I yawned again, once again not caring if I showed my molars off to the world. The hallway was deserted anyway, which was expected of coarse. Man, I really need something to wake me up.

I was almost at the library when I heard some, er, noises. "Oh!Malfoy!" a girl gasped. Dammit dammit dammit. I really don't want to see anything like this, especially if Malfoy's involved. I hoped that they were further on and that I could slip into the library unnoticed, when I saw them. Malfoy was literally on top of some girl right at the door to the library. OH come on! Can't he control himself long enough to find a room?? What a man whore.

I turned to leave, but something caught my attention. I peeped my head back around the corner. OMFG! Is that Hermione?! What? Who? When? And WHY?! I quickly hid on the other side of the corner so as not to be seen. It sounded like they were starting to get up. Oh man! I have to get out of here! I ran as fast and silently as I could in the other direction. After about 10 minuets I was very tired and was quite sure that I was as far away from them as I could possibly be. I went into one of the empty classrooms and sat down on top of one of the desks.

I stared blankly at the chalkboard in front of me with yesterdays history assignment written on it. Since when did they start going out? I thought Hermione hated him! But I know for a fact that she does! We were all dissing him yesterday around the fire in the common room.

I put my head into my hands, making me feel more secure. After a while I looked up.

My worst enemy just stole my girl.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I Don't own anything but Jen and the story plot**

**Recap:**

**I put my head into my hands, making me feel more secure. After a while I looked up.**

**My worst enemy just stole my girl.**

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"Hey Gin!" Hermione said as she walked into their dorm and placed her stack of books on the ground.

"HERMIONE!! You'll never guess what happened!!" Ginny screamed, springing herself off her bed toward her friend.

"Omg you didn't!" Hermione squealed, having already guessed what Ginny was about to tell her.

"I did! I said yes!" Ginny said excitedly with a smile that almost took up her whole face.

"AHHHH!!" They screamed together bouncing up and down holding hands as if they had just won a million dollars.

In the middle of their squeals, Jen, their other roommate, skidded to a halt at the door.

"Are you two alright?! From down stairs it sounds like both your limbs were being cut off!" She said breathlessly.

Jen's a short girl of about 5' 2 ½'', with medium length dark brown hair which contrasts brilliantly with her extremely bright blue eyes. She is usually very pale, but a few freckles can be found on her nose and cheeks. She's proportionally sized, despite the fact that she can really pack it down (a quality that both Ginny and Hermione would love to have).

"Harry asked me out!" Ginny informed her in a high pitch voice, the massive smile still on her face.

"OMG! That's so awesome!! I'm so happy for you Ginny!" Jen gasped and joined them in jumping and squealing

(later that day)

Hermione walked down stairs and sat in an armchair by the fire with a sigh. Being excited for Ginny had exhausted her. She finally managed to get away from it all when Ginny decided to tell her friend Maddy from Ravenclaw and sprinted out of the room in a hurry. So now at last she had time to just sit, relax, and think.

As she slowly closed her eyes an image of Malfoy appeared in her mind. '_Oh ya! I totally forgot about the little incident today… What was up with that anyway? Tee Hee that rhymed! Anyway, back to the oddness of evil people… Because that's exactly what he is. Evil…. E-V-I-L!... I've known this. Malfoy and evil kind of go together. Just like Peanut better and Jelly…hmm…I'm hungry…I guess that's why I made up that corny analogy'_

In front of her on the table was today's Daily Prophet, so she picked it up and began to read. The article that caught her eye most was the one on the cover with a picture of 6 Death Eaters looking menacing. The article said '_Six of You-Know-Who's followers seem to have taken it upon themselves to carry out their master's work. They have already committed several criminal acts, but have found a way to simply vanish into smoke so none of them have been caught yet. We ask that you report immediately to the Ministry of Magic if a random heavy fog comes near your house at all and-' _

Just then she heard the common door open, which drew her attention away from her reading. _'oh no! It's probably Ginny! I mean I love that girl to death but I really tired now!...Oh well, slap on that smile Hermione!'_

Hermione smiled widely and got up out of her chair and faced the portrait hole. The red haired being was walking in very slowly shuffling their feet along. Their head was hung low and their shoulders were hunched over giving them a very disappointed posture.

"Hey Gi-…Ron?" She said in surprise, quickly bringing a hand to her head and flattening her hair as much as she could

There was no reply. Ron moved only his head, and looked up at her with deep meaningful eyes. He was frowning slightly and looked much paler than usual.

"Ron are you okay? What's wrong?" She said with deep concern.

Ron just turned his head to break the stare. She saw him look down at her crumpled skirt, which made her feel even more self-conscious. '_Note to self: Don't just shove cloths into drawers'_ she thought still looking at Ron with interest. '_Wait. Is that a tear? Is Ron Crying? This isn't right!'_

Hermione could only gaze in confusion as the tiny droplet of water sparkled down his cheek.

"Ron what's wrong?" Hermione asked placing a hand lightly on his shoulder; worry etched into her face.

Again there was no verbal response. He shrugged of her hand with a quick movement of his shoulder then walked right past her toward his dorm.

"Ron, please, tell me what's wrong" Hermione shouted as the distance between them increased. But Ron just left her standing there like a statue. Not once looking back.

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(The Next day)

WHAM!

Something large and heavy landed on Hermione.

"Ouch!" She screamed, waking up with a jolt.

"Finally! I've been trying to wake you for half and hour! You better hurry up or you're going to be late!" Ginny said breathlessly, lifting up the books she had just hurled onto Hermione.

_Late? Hermione Granger being late? Never!_

She bolted out of her bed and ran to her oak dresser. She ripped it open and started throwing clothes everywhere in a mad rush to find a cute outfit. When she found one that fit her taste she clenched it in her fist and ran to the bathroom; slamming the door in her hurry.

"DON'T EAT MY FLOBBERWORM!" Jen screamed waking up in a fright. She flailed her limbs around madly, getting herself tangled up in her sheets. She struggled with them for a while and with a yelp she fell clumsily to the ground ("Ouch" she groaned through the blankets). Her eyes were wide and scared, but she soon relaxed and became a little embarrassed seeing Ginny there giving her an odd look.

"Another nightmare Jen?" Ginny asked leaning back on her bed with an amused smile on.

Jen laughed, "You have no idea".

Just then Hermione came bursting out of the bathroom; showered and squeaky clean, and of coarse, looking beautiful like always.

"Wow, only took you 4 minuets and _24_ seconds that time!" Ginny said surprised and she consulted her pink wristwatch.

"Oh ha ha Ginny aren't you just a riot" Hermione said sarcastically while gathering her books and quills. "What time it is anyway?"

"About 7:00" Ginny replied sheepishly.

"Ginny! Classes don't start 'till 8:15! You said I was late!" Hermione turned on her.

"Ya, I know" Ginny smiled "But I was getting lonely"

Ginny was a very early riser, but everyone else liked to sleep in which left Ginny alone for at least 2 hours every morning. And Ginny (being a very social person) couldn't stand the loneliness sometimes.

When all three were ready they went downstairs into the common room to find Harry and Ron talking over a game of Wizard's Chess. The mere sight of Ron brought back everything that had happened between him and Hermione last night. She tried to go back up the stairs to avoid him but it was too late; he had seen her. To Hermione's surprise Ron got up and started walking toward her.

"Can I have a word?" He asked Hermione quietly.

Ginny turned to Hermione, her eyes asking a question all by themselves. Hermione nodded to Ginny then turned to Ron.

"Sure" She said at last.

They walked out of the Common room together in silence. Ginny watched her go with sad face. She remembered how broken Hermione was last night. Remembered her confusion as to why Ron was mad at her. Remembered how even though Hermione said she was fine, she could hear her crying for at least another hour. Hermione is a gentle creature and Ron had no right to act like an 8 year old and randomly give her the silent treatment!

(Harry's POV)

"Hey" I said as Ginny sat down across from me; taking the seat Ron had been in moments before. Ginny looked up and smiled at me before turning her attention to the chessboard and examining where all the pieces where.

"Ginny?" I asked. "I need to talk to you."

Ginny snapped her head up with a look of complete horror on her face. I was totally taken aback.

"But what's wrong Harry? You were perfectly fine with it yesterday!" she whispered fast and hysterically.

My mouth dropped. What was she talking about? Ohhh, she thinks I'm going o break up with her!

"No! That's not what I was going to say!" I wispered back equally as fast.

Ginny heaved a sigh of relief and relaxed her shoulders. She then continued to scan the board and said "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"It's about Ron… He was a total mess yesterday. I'd never seen him so crushed before in my life. I didn't know what to do about it. Blimey food didn't even help!" I relayed to her and remembered the events of last night.

"Good! He ott to be miserable if he going to play with Hermione's feelings and crush her like he did". Ginny fumed while slamming a bishop 2 spaces forward on the board.

And here I was expecting sympathy! Apparently she's far from that. Hang on, what'd _he_ do to _Hermione_?

"What exactly happened between him and Hermione?" I questioned, moving my queen to a safer area of the board.

"He totally ignored her the other night and wouldn't even tell her why. He just kind of gave her the cold shoulder and wouldn't talk to her. She was totally distraught. Nothing Jen or I would do could stop her from crying." Ginny frowned.

"Oh, That's not what I heard."

"Oh ya? What did IT tell you?" Ginny spat; turning her sadness into anger and moving her rook a space to the left, taking my knight.

I have to admit a smiled a little; I just love it when Ginny gets all mad. I know that sounds terrible, but if you were looking at her right then, you would understand.

"Well" I began "Yesterday morning Ron went down to the library to get some homework done- surprising I know- and when he got there he saw Malfoy and Hermione…well… on the ground together…and er… snogging." I studdered out.

I'm so bad at things like this. I hate being shy! Why is it I can fight a basilisk no problem but when it come to drama and girls I'm a wreck?!

"I…What? That can't be…she hates him! Right?" Ginny questioned as she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Well I have no idea what's going on now. Maybe we should let it play out and see what happens. Oh, and Checkmate by the way."

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(Ron's POV)

Hermione and I walked together in silence for a while, not really going anywhere, just walking aimlessly. I mentally fought with myself, wondering if I should talk first and if I did, what I would say. Of coarse I'd practiced what I would say about a million and five times in the dormitory, but my little speech seemed irrelevant and corny at the moment. I decided on an easy introduction to the conversation.

"It's ok Hermione. I was shocked at first, and well, I still am, but I'm going to do my best to look past this so that we can stay friends."

"What are you talking about Ronald?"

I heaved a sigh. Playing dumb, eh? I don't know if I'll be able to say this to her. Bloody hell, a bedroom wall is loads easier to explain to.

"Ok I'll cut to the chase" I said while I stopped walking and turned toward her. "I saw you and Malfoy,er…together… in front of the library yesterday"

She just stared at me as if she had no recollection to the moment. After a while, a look of recognition crossed her face.

"Oh, you mean when I hit into him? Why on earth would that make you mad?" She prodded.

"Hit into him?! You two were on the ground snogging from how I remember it!"

"Ronald! I would never! And you know that! He merely hit into me and we fell down, period. End of story!" She fumed; although it seemed a little different then how she usually yelled at him. She seemed as if she wasn't really as mad as she was pretending to be.

"Oh. Well this is embarrassing. Sorry 'bout that Hermione." I mumbled.

Maybe it's a guy thing but I had the sudden urge to look down, so I did and began shuffling my feet out of nervousness.

I felt a small hand fall lightly upon my shoulder.

"It's okay Ron, you're forgiven. But there's one thing I'd like to know"

I looked up. "What?"

She stared straight into my eyes. "Why did you care so much?"

"Oh…well, I don't know." I shifted uncomfortably.

I do not like where this is going. At all.

"Oh come on, there has to be some reason" She said with a slight laugh

"No there doesn't"

"Ron."

"Hermione"

"_Ron._"

Geez, getting angry now are we?

"Hermione, relax it's nothing, just a misunderstanding!"

"Oh…"

What was that supposed to mean?! "Oh..." I mean is that disappointment or something?

"What do you mean 'Oh…?'" I questioned

"Nothing."

"Hermione."

"Ron."

"You can't use that on me, I used it on you!"

"Exactly"

"No, explain."

"Fine.(deep breath) I just thought that a normal friend would have been slightly mad, if they thought they saw that, but you were like really mad."

"Are you calling me abnormal?"

"Yes. Haha no I'm just kidding, I just meant that, I don't know, I thought you liked me, like, erm, more than a friend or something."

Dammit, this is gonna be hard to say. Dammit dammit dammit, stay composed!

"Well… I kinda…do"

Ah, yes, have you ever noticed that the floor is very pretty? All the different shapes of the stones and the swirling colors…

"Really?"

I felt slim fingers push my chin up so that I was staring forward again. Oh and notice how she didn't automatically say that she liked me back? I'll have to get out of this somehow…

"But it's ok Hermione I'll just ignore it 'cause I don't want stuff between us to be awkward at all!"

"Why would you ignore it?" She asked innocently

"'Cause you don't like me like that"

"If I told you that I did, would you still want to ignore it?"

I snapped my head up. I guess it had been drifting toward the ground again.

"W-what?"

She was smiling her big Hermione smile now and biting her lower lip. Then she laughed a little at my expression.

"Oh, come on Ron, it's kind of obvious" She kidded.

I just rushed at her with a hug. My hands around her slender waist, while hers wrapped around my neck. I was so shocked, and overjoyed I spin with her and picked her up off the ground. I placed her back down and held her a little ways away from me. She looks so damn pretty!

"I love you Hermione"

Ug, I can't help myself. As I leaned down toward her lips I saw her gently close her eyes and turn her face up toward mine.

Her lips felt just as I imagined they would for all this time, soft, smooth, and full. She broke away after a little while with a smile of her face. Why not be even more romantic, eh? So I turned her sideways, put one hand behind her shoulders and picked up both of her legs with the other. She gave a little "oh!" of surprise and then laughed as I carried her back to the common room. As we walked through the halls a couple of people whispered and there were a lot of "awww!"s which I really didn't mind. It was only when we passed a group of Slytherins, including Draco Malfoy, that Hermione tensed up.

"Um, Ron? This is sweet but would you mind putting me down?"

"Ya, sure" I said as I gently lowered her. She fixed her shirt and hair, then we awkwardly walked back to the common room side by side. This really was awkward. If I felt like bringing my hands out of my pockets I'd defiantly be doing the awkward turtle.

Have I ever told you how pretty the floor tiles are? So shinny and glossy before you step over them. Ooo these ones have little gold flecks! I mean look at them…

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**A/N: Sorry This took so long guys! With Vacations and Summer Reading Projects it gets hard but it is my longest one yet so enjoy and i'm already starting on the next chapter so reveiw and tell me what you want in it! Oh and btw that convo Hermione and Ron had at the end really happend between me and my bf so i thought it was cute enough to put in )**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took so long i was on vacation for a while but here it is! PLEASE review! The Reader Traffic thing says that over 150 people have read this so far but NO ONE has reveiwed it! Please do! It would seriously like make my day.**

Disclaimer: The only things that are mine are Jen, Christina, and the Up-Side-Down-Nine

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

"Um, Ron? This is sweet but would you mind putting me down?"

"Ya, sure" I said as I gently lowered her. She fixed her shirt and hair, then we awkwardly walked back to the common room side by side. This really was awkward. If I felt like bringing my hands out of my pockets I'd defiantly be doing the awkward turtle.

Have I ever told you how pretty the floor tiles are? So shinny and glossy before you step over them. Ooo these ones have little gold flecks! I mean look at them…

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Chapter 4

Hermione sighed. It was Saturday morning again and she was in the Library finishing up her weekend homework. She was almost done but she just couldn't focus on Goblin Rebellions anymore. She threw her quill in disgust, then leaned back in her chair, bringing her arms behind her head in a stretch.

It had been an entire week since Ron had kissed her and NOTHING had changed between them. He just kept acting like they were best friends. It was aggravating really. She had finally spilled about how she liked him and then she finds out that he likes her too and they kiss and……nothing.

She had tried to talk to him at dinner on Wednesday, but it was always impossible to talk to him when food was around. I mean come on, it's Ron we're talking about here. She picked up her quill and started doodling on a piece of scrap parchment next to her. Before she knew it the doodle had become a face, which, she assumed, would turn into Ron. She sighed again. She'd been doing this a lot lately. As she was drawing though she noticed that the he would look much better with his hair parted in the middle…maybe less freckles too…actually, let's go with no freckles at all…ooo and lets make his eyes just a bit brighter too…

When she was done she sat back and looked at her creation. It was Malfoy. She let out another, more exasperated sigh and flopped onto the books in front of her. She had been thinking about him a lot too. Way too much actually. I mean not in that way of coarse! But just thinking. Even she had to admit that he had been much kinder to her lately, well kind of.

FLASH BACK

(Potions Class)

She had been taking notes, as usual. But at one point she shifted her arm, causing one of her quills to fall off the edge of her desk. As she went to pick it up she saw that someone was levitating it back to her desk for her. She looked around. First at Ron, who very close to falling asleep, so she ruled him out. The she looked at her partner Christina (close friend and roommate), but she was nodding off as well. As a matter of fact, almost everyone was asleep except for Malfoy, who was leaning back in his chair with his hands conveniently resting on his knees under the table.

She looked back at him and he scoffed her. He made a face like "Can I help you?". She had almost ruled him out except that she could of sworn she saw the tip of his wand from beneath the desk…

"Is there a problem Ms.Granger?" Snape questioned, about 2 feet away from her desk. How'd he get there so quietly anyway?

"Sorry my fault Professor" She heard from behind her.

"Not a problem" Snape drawled and proceeded to make his way back to the front of the classroom.

END OF FLASH BACK

She remembered how one time Snape just looked at Ron and he shriveled. But Malfoy had stood up to him, well kind of, but it still was a lot seeing as he'd done it for _her_, kind of.

It was hard not to compare the two it was a very odd situation all together. She and Malfoy had always hated each other, but that encounter in the library last week seemed to make her question that. I mean what had he done that was evil in like, a year? Nothing. She had liked Ron for the past 4 years (except for that whole Victor fling she had going on there) but now for some reason the feeling was as strong, as needy, as before.

She looked down at her watch and realized she'd been thinking about this for ½ an hour already. It was nearly 6:25. Ginny was probably already up and about like usual, she thought.

She picked up one of the books she'd been using and went to put in back on it's rightful shelf. She walked down 3 rows, took a left, walked down 4 more isles and took another left-

BAM!

She'd run into someone…again. _'I've got to stop doing this'_ she thought. Although this time she didn't fall to the ground. The person had wrapped their arms around her waist, catching her right before she hit the tiles. She looked up to see a pair of blue-ish gray eyes half covered with loose strands of light blonde hair. He lifted her to her feet and let go of her. He took a quick step back and scowled.

"I hope your not making a habit out of running into me every time I try to walk through the library Granger" He hissed through his teeth.

"Oh, sorry…" Hermione mumbled back, finally breaking away from his stare. She became a little annoyed at herself for such a small, pathetic answer.

He let out a scoff and went to walk by her. Hermione Tightened her shoulder, expecting him to hit into it like he usually did, but he didn't. He just simply walked past. She was surprised and turned around.

"Wait!" She called to him, since he was already an entire isle away.

'_Why did I just do that?!'_ She mentally screamed at herself

"Yes?" He asked. His voice still had the coldness in it as he half turned and looked at her over his shoulder.

'_Dammit! Stop looking like a model and maybe I could think!'_ The thought

"Well, you seemed to be looking for something, and well, I know this library better than anyone so I thought I might be able to help." She said while walking up to him. Her voice sounded like a shy person trying to be as confident as they could.

His face softened as he turned fully to face her. Then, as if he remembered who she was again, he scowled again.

"Do you honestly think I need help from _you?_" He bit back at her

"You know what? I take back my offer!" She spat, tensing up her shoulders and trying to keep her voice steady.

"Oh no! Don't take back the offer! What ever would I do then?!" He mocked in a high annoying voice.

"You know what?!" She fumed, her face gaining color rapidly

"What?" he prodded with the same mocking smile on his face.

She opened her mouth a few times, then closed it. Getting more frustrated every time.

"It's too early to think of a educated comeback! Try again later!" She screamed, and thrust the book she was holding into his chest and stalked away.

Malfoy watched her walk away, silently laughing the whole time. He looked down at the object that she'd just used to bruise his ribs.

"Oh here it is" He said to himself before he put the book under his arm and walked out of the library.

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(Ginny's POV)

'_Ug, Hermione's probably never coming back. I mean come on, the one day she gets up super early and she spends it in the library while poor little-o-me gets to sit here bored to tears. Well, I have to give her some credit; at least she gets up early occasionally, unlike this lump over here_.'

I turned sideways to face the bed next to me in which Jen was sleeping without any sigh of waking up within the next 4 hours; unless someone made her. Jen's philosophy was that weekends were invented so that everyone could catch up on their sleep. She was more of a night person (There always seemed to be a party she just _had_ to attend, and all the other times she would study like a good littler girl. Quite contradictory really) so she would stay up until like 3 and then sleep until 10. I think that's a total waste of the day. I mean if the days half way over before you even start it then what good is _that?_ But whatever, she's a social little butterfly so I guess nighttime would suit her better anyway.

'_Since nobody seems to be AWAKE in the mornings!'_

I looked over at Cristina's sleeping form diagonally from me. She got up at the usual time, about 8, but its not early enough for me since, well, it's 6:30 and she's not awake to talk to me! At least she didn't agree with Jens theory or I'd have to go find more friends!

'_Well…friends who aren't nocturnal at least'_

I looked at the bed side table between Jen and I. I went over and knelt in front of it, the thick red carpet that covered our floor padding my knees. The table was full of picture frames and I reached out for the first one. It had a smooth dark blue frame and inside there was a picture of me, Hermione, Ron, and Harry at our kitchen table 2 summers ago. We were all smiling widely with are arms around each other and slightly falling to the left. It was a good picture of Harry too. His eyes glowed with delight. The embarrassing thing was how many times I watched my eyes flick between the camera and Harry. That's why mom had given the picture to me. She knew I was basically obsessed with Harry.

'_Ooo I should probably write to her about it! She would love to hear the news!'_

I replaced the frame to its dust-outlined place on the table and picked up the one next to it. The frame was pink and fuzzy with blue bubble-letters on the bottom that said 'Best Friends'. Hermione had bewitched it so that the letters bounced around happily around the edge. Inside the cute frame was a picture of me, Jen, Hermione, and Christina after my first year (Jen and Hermione's 2nd. Christina was in my grade). We had been lucky that only 4 of us had been assigned to the room because it gives us a nice bit of elbow room. In the picture we were in the middle of the room with big smiles jumping up and down. We were all sad to be leaving each other, but this was kind of like a celebration for completing the year. I made 4 copies so that each of us could have one.

'_Wow we look so little…was it really that long ago? It seems like yesterday…... Man, I'm getting old.'_

I replaced the picture to its rightful place and scanned the rest. They were all pictures of families or friends with the exception on one. The frame was face down and closer to Jen's bed. I recognized it immediately. It was Jen's boyfriend frame. Every time she got a new man she'd put his picture in it and if they broke up (even a subtle agreed break up) she'd burn his picture. She currently wasn't dating anyone and she hated seeing it empty so she turned it face down.

I sighed and got up off the floor.

'_You know what, I'm really sick of waiting for people.'_

I checked my appearance in the mirror (meh,ok) before I left and went down to the common room. I walked down the stairs which seemed much steeper and went to a chair by the fireplace. I flopped down into the chair without looking.

CRUNCH

I shifted to the side and grabbed hold of the thing I'd sat on. It was a copy of the _Daily Prophet. _

'_I guess the house elves put one in here earlier then usual'_

In big bold letter on the front page was:

_**The Up-Side-Down-Nine Strikes Again!**_

_Yesterday at around 4:07 there were reports of fog sightings in Northern England by a muggle news station. The Ministry of Magic new immediately that this was no any ordinary fog, but by the time they had gotten there the fog was gone, leaving a clear view of 3 destroyed muggle town. So far there has been no idea as to an explanation for their actions or if they were just doing it for fun, but this incident has given us a better understanding of what the Up-Side-Down-Nine can do. We still advise all to take caution, it seems we have a similar circumstance to the one we experienced only 3 years ago with the mass murderer Sirius Black._

The article went on a little longer but it was all about how to stay safe and what signs to look for, which I really didn't concern myself with. I was in Hogwarts. Nothing could harm me here. Well, ok, the war doesn't count though.

'_Why do they call themselves the Up-Side-Down Nine though? I thought that the news had called them The Six before…ohhh. They're afraid to say their name………... Has it really gotten that bad?! That they're already wincing at the name?'_

I wiped my hand across my forehead and noticed that I was sweating a little. It was true that this was scaring me a little. I mean, we'd just ridded the world of one super evil being and now we had to deal with SIX more?!

I threw the paper on the wooden coffee table in front of me and curled my kneels into my chest. A feeling of aloneness fell upon me.

'_Harry.'_ I thought

That was really all the convincing I needed. With that I walked over to the boy's dormitory steps and climbed them. I found Room 47 and slowly pushed the door open. It opened with a little creak and I peered into the room. In the first bed was the boy of my dreams; just the person I'd been looking for. I sat on a suite case across from him; just looking at him sleep.

'_Wow, to anyone else this would look like I'm a total stalker. Is that what I'm doing? I thought of it more as finding a nice way to comfort myself.'_

I kept staring at him while I thought of this. Just the way he was so relaxed and at peace in his sleep. I eyed the blankets he was clutching to his chest hungrily.

'_I'm officially really lame. Sitting here, watching my boyfriend sleep, and being jealous of his blanket. You know what? No. I refuse to be jealous of a blanket…stupid cloth!'_

And with that I slowly walked up to his bed. He didn't stir, so I gently lifted his arm and pulled out the blanket a bit, just enough so that I could snuggle in. I let his arm fall over me as I felt the warmth radiating off his body. It was so cozy and warm that I immediately felt safe, and far, far away from the Up-Side-Down-Nine. The feeling seemed officially concluded when Harry instinctively hugged me too him like a child would a teddy bear. I eventually drifted off to sleep without even realizing it.

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**A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!! **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**A/N: Reviews would be fabulous!!**

Chapter 5

Hermione heaved her books onto her bed and then laid back on it (the part not covered with books) and sighed in relief. She'd been trying to figure out what had just happened in the library. She couldn't help but notice how his face had softened as he turned to her, or the way he'd wrapped his arms around her waist so that she wouldn't fall. He seemed like someone totally different. She continued to day-dreamed about this for a little while, but couldn't ignore the other facts, like how he'd sneered at her and mocked her. That just seemed like the usual old Malfoy. It seemed that he would be nice to her, but every time she tried to be nice back (like offering to help him find a book) that he'd totally bite her head off!

She lifted her arms and put them behind her head, unclenching the fists she'd made unconsciously.

This was the perfect time to think. It was nice and quite, and the sun was starting to glisten through the window which gave the room a more homey and comfortable look. She kicked off her shoes gently and pulled off her socks.

'_Wait a minuet. Where's Ginny?' _She thought while sitting up and scanning the room.

'_She's usually here waiting for me to come back, huh, maybe she decided to go study. I'm glad I'm finally rubbing off on her! Haha, just kidding. But really, where is she? Ug, I should probably go find her. Dang you Ginny! Making me have to get up!'_ She grumbled to herself as she got up off her bed and headed for the door.

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"_Now that I have my book I can _finally_ get started on my Goblin Rebellions essay. It's bad enough I had to waist half an hour trying to find it this morning."_ Draco thought to himself as he casually walked down the hall.

He walked at a steady pace and mentally kept time with the click his shoes made on the tile. At this he looked down at the ground and noted that the tiles were very pretty here. They had dazzling gold flecks in them…

Before he knew it his feet stopped in front of a dungeon door with a snake-like border.

"Haggleton" He spoke to it and the heavy door swung open after a series of clicks, which sounded like several locks opening one at a time.

The common room was basically all silver with dark green decorations; such as banners and table cloths. He chose a large chair by they window that he particularly favored and flopped down into it. No one was awake yet so he thought it safe to let out a relieved sigh, and then quickly resumed his scowling expression. It was practically his trademark by now; can't disappoint the fans, you know. He scrunched up his face and tried to remember what page the teacher had said was a good reference. Once he had remembered it he flipped to the page (394). He opened the book all the way and spread it across his lap.

When he glanced down at the book he saw a piece of parchment that appeared to have something written on the other side. He flipped the paper over so see a couple of facts written in a fast scrawling handwriting taking up half of the paper, while the other half was devoted to a picture of a boy.

'_Granger'_ He thought with a little laugh under his voice.

But there was something about the picture that made him feel uncomfortable. He shifted in his seat a little, studying the face. The sketch had fair hair with bright gleaming eyes. But it wasn't just that that made it seem…familiar. It was its expression. The boy didn't look happy at all, he was kind of sneering to be exact.

It looked to like…

Malfoy's head snapped up with a gasp of realization.

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Jen woke up with a yawn and threw her covers aside. She glanced at the clock, then over at the lump in the bed next to her.

"Oy, Christina! It's 11:30, do you reckon we should get up?" Jen called over to her.

Jen received a grumble for a response while Christina shifted under her blankets. After a while Christina reluctantly emerged.

"Ya, I suppose… What day is it?" Christina asked.

"Um, Saturday?"

"Oh my gosh no way!" Christina said excitedly as her face lit up. "It's Hogsmead day!"

Jen gasped with surprise, "OH! I forgot too!"

"Well, then what are we waiting for? It's Boy-Shopping time!" She said with a devilish smile.

The two girls jumped out of their beds and raced around to get ready. They both took quick showers then dried and straightened their hair using magic in front of the overly large no-frame mirror in the bathroom (they had increased it's width because a normal sized one was just not adequate for 4 girls). They took their time applying their make-up though because this required perfect precision. When they were fully satisfied with their facial appearance they went out to their closets to find something cute to wear.

"Ooo let's work the mini skirts!" Jen said holding up her favorite jean mini.

"Right Oh!" Christina exclaimed and dug in her drawer to find her own. "Do you reckon I should wear the blue or the green tank top with it?"

"Green, it's defiantly your color" Jen replied, then spun around holding two of her shirts, "Black or Sparkly-Silver-Thing?"

"Black, you don't want to look desperate."

Jen made an expression as if this was a very good idea and she should have thought of it, then pulled off her pajama shirt and replaced it with the black V-neck.

"Do you have any hoops I can borrow?" She asked over her shoulder to Christina.

"Yep, Here you go" She said; tossing her the earrings.

Jen caught them and put them in, then reached for her sparkly heart necklace and clipped it around her neck. She glanced in the mirror one more time and flipped her hair.

"You ready?" She asked while turning to Christina.

"You betcha I am!" She smiled back.

They walked out of their dorm side by side. They knew exactly where they were going so they didn't have to really pay attention.

" Soooo, anyone in particular that your looking for?" Jen questioned while cocking an eyebrow.

Christina laughed. "No"

"Bull! You can't not fancy someone! There has to be _someone_ who's caught your eye!"

"Well… ok fine. You got me, hold on though" Christina blushed and eyed a group of boys that they were walking past. They continued on down the marble stair case at the front of the building and headed toward the road to Hogsmead. Once they were certain that they were out of earshot of everyone by them they continued their conversation.

"Well, don't laugh, but I think I'm falling for Ron" Christina said is a barely audible voice.

"Ah! No way! When did this infatuation start?!" Jen questioned with wide eyes and the smile of a gossip girl forming on her lips.

"Well… from what Hermione has been telling us it sounds like he doesn't like her anymore and, I mean come on, the kid is pretty cute!" She said with a laugh.

"Ya, I just advise that you not tell Hermione this, just in case, you know."

"Oh ya, defiantly. Plus, maybe I wont ever have to if I find someone here!" Christina said motioning around her as they walked down the busy street. "Let's go grab an ice cream and then observe from one of those tables." She motioned with her head.

The girls made their way over to the ice cream store and bought two double scoops (Jen got coffee, Christina got Rocky Road) and then settled into a couple of chairs on the patio outside.

"Ooo! Don't look now but there's an 8 right behind you!" Jen hissed to Christina.

Christina causally pulled out a pocket mirror from her purse and angled it so that she could see who Jen was talking about.

"Oh! Nice find! His friend looks pretty scrumptious too! I'd give him an 8 too!" Christina exclaimed

"His friend?" Jen repeated with a puzzled look, and looked over Christina's shoulder. "Oh ya! I didn't see him before! … Oh! And look at the Blondie in front of the book store…He's walking down the street now….the one with the long 'swish' hair…you see him?"

"Mmhmm! I see him now! I'd only give him a 7 though, there's something about his nose that makes his face seem a little off." Christina observed as she finished off her cone.

"Well sure, if you looking at his body though-" Jen started to say but was cut off by Christina slamming her hand against the table; hastily trying to get Jen's attention.

"10 Alert!" She whispered hysterically with wide eyes that were fixed on a point behind Jen.

"A 10?! Are you sure? That's almost impossible…unless…is it HIM?!" Jen shout whispered.

"It's HIM!" Christina confirmed with a nod as her eyes got a lovey look in them and her head tilted to the side slightly.

"Ah! Do I have anything on my face?!" Jen questioned; demanding Christina's attention.

"Nope, your good." She said after a quick glance. Then Christina's eyes suddenly widened from the love sick expression she was in before. "Jen. Jen. Jen. Jen." She repeated

"Yes? Yes? Yes? Yes?" Jen eagerly asked, since she wasn't allowed to blatantly turn around and stare. That would just seem creepy, although he was probably used to it.

"He's. Coming. Over. To. Us!" She sputtered, and turned her gaze back to Jen.

They both quickly fixed their hair as casually as they could and pretended like they hadn't noticed yet that the boy of every girl's dreams was coming their way.

"Ya, I know I can't believe it either!" Jen exclaimed to Christina as if this was only a fragment of a conversation that they had been having for a while already.

"And what are two fine ladies like you doing here all alone?" a suave masculine voice inquired.

Christina and Jen looked up next to them into the face that belonged on a movie star. His blonde hair was half-way falling into his light grey eyes as a devilish sideways smirk formed on his face. His shoulders were back in perfect posture and he had his hands in the pockets of his robes. The sun was behind him which made it seem like he was glowing and unreal.

Christina scoffed.

"What do you want Malfoy?" She said playing her Gryffindor part.

Malfoy took on a pretend hurt face. Which, unfortunately for the girls, made him look even hotter.

"Such hostility Collins" he said back to Christina "I simply came by to say hello, mind if I sit down?" He asked motioning to the chair next to him.

"If you must" Christina grumbled, but the look she gave Jen showed only the utmost pleasure.

"So where are your other two buddies?" He asked while sitting down, then leaned back to rest his arms on the back of chair.

"Huh, we don't really know. But I reckon that Hermione's at the library again, and Ginny's…well, we haven't got a clue." Jen replied in a casual manner.

The three of them talked for a while about school, people, and why each of them were there (Jen and Christina said they were just hanging out, while Malfoy said he was looking for someone, but didn't tell them who)

"Oh, come on! Just tell us! We could help you look for them!" Jen practically whined after trying to get it out of him for the last 15 minuets.

"Nah, I'm alright I'll find them later" Malfoy said with a smile at their eagerness.

"Oy, Draco!" They heard a voice say in the distance just as Christina was about to argue back.

They all turned to see a handsome boy with medium length dark brown hair and light brown eyes walking their way. He had a pleasant face that made them feel comfortable with him at once. Jen turned her face toward Christina and raised her eyebrows twice and winked. Christina nodded whole-heartily, because and eyebrow raise means 2 and a wink means 5, so Jen apparently gives this kid a 9. Which, Christina thought, was pretty good, although he probably deserved a 9 ½.

"Hey!" Malfoy replied, as the boy pulled up a chair on the other side of the table between Jen and Christina, then turned towards the girls.

"How much does a Polar Bear weigh?" he asked them.

"Er…" the girls said confusedly while giving each other an awkward glance.

"Enough to break the ice! Hi I'm Jake White" He said smiling and extending his hand to Jen, who shook it.

"Hey I'm Jennifer Gallagher" She said with a flirtatious smile, now that she knew he wasn't some creep.

Then he turned and shook Christina's hand.

"Hi I'm Christina Collins" She said smiling.

It turned out that Jake was very easy to talk to and they all enjoyed themselves, just sitting there talking for about 2 hours. Jen and Christina became very comfortable with them like they'd known them for years. Malfoy didn't act at all like he usually did in front of The Trio, and they couldn't see why Jake was put in Slytherin because he was the nicest kid ever. The boys were so hilarious that there was barely an interval of 2 minuets that they weren't laughing.

"Hey, are you guys doing anything tonight?" Christina asked the boys once she'd regained her composure after a fit of giggles.

"Sure, what do you have in mind?" Draco asked still smiling from the last joke.

"Well, every Saturday us and a group of friends get together and play some sort of game. It sounds wicked childish but it's a good time" She informed them.

"I'm there!" Jake said with a smile.

"Awesome!" Jen said excitedly "See you at 12 then!"

"12? Why so late?" Draco asked

"Because no one else will be awake" She replied with a wink, and her and Christina walked away, toward the road back to the castle.

**A/N: Review? Please??**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Harry and Ginny walked down the stairs from the boy's dormitory holding hands. As they reached the end of the stair case they could distinctly hear Hermione and Ron talking. Ginny tugged on Harry's hand, motioning him to stop. She put a finger to her lips and looked sideways at the opening to the common room. Although Harry knew it wasn't good to spy, especially on his best friends, he was too curious not too.

"What do you mean 'can't find her'?" Ron demanded of Hermione

"I searched the entire castle! I have no idea! I thought she might have been with you!" Hermione said back hysterically.

Ron must have really been in a fog this morning. He had gotten dressed and walked right by them out the door to breakfast without noticing them.

"When did you notice she was missing?" Ron questioned as they heard a soft 'thump', which implied that he had sat down in one of the large scarlet chairs on the western side of the room.

"About 6:30" Hermione replied, and they heard her sit down as well.

"Hmm…" Ron thought, making it sound like he was a great philosophical thinker. It made Ginny giggle a bit as the mental picture of Ron stroking his chin while attempting to think entered her mind.

"I wonder if she's with Harry" Hermione thought out load so that Ron could answer her question.

"He's been upstairs all day…I think…I don't know, we could check" He said in his normal voice.

"What have we got to loose?" Hermione stated, and they heard the two figures rise off their chairs; the sound of footsteps coming closer and closer. Harry glanced at Ginny, who motioned for him to continue to walk down the stairs. Ginny and Harry walked down the rest of the stairs hand in hand as if they had just came down, and met Ron and Hermione right as they were about to ascend.

"G'morning mate" Harry greeted Ron. "Hey Hermione"

They didn't really pay attention to that though since they had caught a glimpse of Ginny next to him.

"Ginny!" Hermione squealed. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. You were just taking forever in the library so I went to visit Harry" Ginny said as if she'd been doing it forever.

"What were you guys doing?" Ron asked suspiciously; taking on the full role of an older brother.

"Well, when Harry _finally_ woke up" Ginny said with a smile in Harry's direction "we played a couple games" Ron's face turned pale, "of cards" Ron relaxed.

Hermione laughed at Ron's expression.

"Anyone know what time it is?" Harry asked

"Almost 12, want to go grab a bit to eat now?" Hermione asked the group.

"Sounds good to me!" Ron declared; his face brightening.

The four of them walked out the portrait hole and made their way down to the Great Hall. Suddenly Ginny stopped walking and she put her arms out on either side of her to stop the others from proceeding. Then she slowly put one finger up to her lips for the second time today. She then tilted her head up, and the rest of them started to hear what she was talking about.

Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were talking in rapid hushed voices. They couldn't hear complete sentences, but fragments of what they were saying to each other.

"Dumbledore…news…Up-Side-Down…" McGonagall was saying, her breath a little heavy, due to the fact that they were walking down the flights of stairs at a very fast pace.

"Indeed…heard…but…we…manage" Dumbledore quickly replied.

"But-" Professor McGonagall was cut off mid-sentence by Dumbledore. They were coming closer and it was easier to hear them.

"We will discuss this at a later time Minerva" He said briskly as they started down a set of stairs that was very close to Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Ron.

The four of them continued down to the Great Hall, but they were all a little uneasy. Ginny exchanged a worried glance with Hermione and observed Harry's puzzled face. But none of them mentioned it and it was put toward the back of their minds momentarily, while they opened the doors to the cheerfully loud Great Hall.

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"JEN! HURRY UP! WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!" Christina screamed from the doorway with her hands on either side of the frame.

"Coming, coming!" Jen said bustling over "And would you keep it down? People are trying to sleep for goodness sakes!"

"I already put a silencing charm on the room to avoid anything like that from happening" she said back with a smirk "Now let's go!"

"Ok, ok! I'm ready now!" Jen bit, as she shuffled into her shoes.

The two girls headed down the stairs to the common room and poked their heads out the portrait hole. After looking both ways to make sure the coast as clear, they tip-toed out into the corridor, and closed the portrait gently behind them.

"Another nighttime excursion, ladies?" The Fat Lady whispered from her frame.

"You bet" Christina smiled back.

"Remember the rule" The Fat Lady reminded, while tilting her head forward.

"Yes, we remember the rule" Jen said in a bored, monotonous, and annoyed voice "Yo9u wont tell anyone what we're up to as long as we come back and tell you about it, because you love being in tune to what's going on.

"Right then" The Fat Lady said smugly "Off you go!"

The two girls continued through the corridors and stairways; shifting behind corners and dashing from here to there in a spy-like way, while holding their wands with two hands like a gun.

"Whose turn was it to find a room this time?" Christina communicated to Jen through sign language when they were hidden on opposite sides of a dark hallway on the third floor.

"Hermione" Jen signed back.

With this information they continued down the hall until they reached the 3rd set of knight's armor on the right and ducked behind it. Tucked between the metal plates in the shoulder blade of the armor was a little piece of paper that Christina reached up and pulled out. It was folded into 4ths and when Christina had opened it all the way they saw that someone had scribbled incoherent shapes and lines onto it in pencil. They didn't look confused, for they had expected this, and Jen pointed her wand to the parchment.

"_Scriptio_ _Unscrambulare_" She whispered and the markings on the paper began to move, and shift. As they did, they started to form words, and the words formed into a sentence which read: _Hey, did we have a test tomorrow? Because I have to study more about _Grindylows_ before I'm ready for it._

"Say what?!" Christina asked

"I really don't know…oh wait…look here!" Jen exclaimed and pointed to the line that was under the words. When Christina leaned in for a better look her face relaxed.

"Oh!" She said as she took in that the line was broken up into small, almost unnoticeable, dots and dashes.

Christina enlarged it with her wand so that they could clearly see the inscriptions.

"Thank goodness we just covered morse code in muggle studies! Ha ha, that Hermione" Jen shook her head with a smile and small laugh.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure it says Prefect Lounge" Christina pondered

"Ya I got that too" Jen nodded

"But how'd she-" Christina began to say but was cut off when they heard footsteps 2 corridors away.

Christina quickly set the paper to flames then threw it too the ground and stomped out the smoldering ashes.

"Come on" She said, and grabbed Jen's hand to pull her down a passage.

The girls ran as fast and as silently as they could; occasionally stopping at a corner, so that they could peek around it to see if anyone was following them. They took a couple more turns (left, left ,right, left) until they finally came upon the passage they were looking for. They walked down it slowly and carefully. A shiver ran up both of their spines as they walked past a slightly open window, which was letting in cool nighttime air. But it wasn't just the temperature that made them uneasy. It was the way the moon was shinning in from outside, and casting ghastly shadows on their surroundings. But the thing that really got them was how there was that kind of feeling that they were being watched, and the almost inaudible sounds of soft breathing up ahead.

Just then Jen froze, and Christina followed her gaze to see what was wrong. There was a figure leaning against the wall in the shadows; it's outline hardly noticeable. Just then the figure resituated themselves on their feet, and started to walk towards them. Immediately the girls whipped out their wands and pointed it at the figure.

"Whoa, whoa!" The shadow said while raising its hands "Relax, it's me"

They recognized the voice and lowered their wands.

"Bloody hell Malfoy! You scared the living daylights out of me!" Jen said with a smile.

"Sorry about that, but we followed your directions on how to get here, but it seems we don't have the password" He frowned slightly then smirked up at them "Very clever way of communicating though"

"That's Hermione for you" Christina laughed.

Draco looked a little shocked at finding out this news, but covered it up quickly.

"So do you guys have the password?" another voice asked from the shadows.

The girls squinted into the dark to try and see who it was. The squinting was no longer necessary when they person stepped into the light the moon sent cascading from the windows.

"Oh, hey Jake!" Christina said enthusiastically with a wave.

He smiled and nodded in her direction. Then looked to Jen for the answer to his question.

"I'm not positive about this but I was pretty sure that the word Grindylow was written in a different way on the note" Jen pondered, with her brows furrowed with focus.

"Sure, lets give it a try" Malfoy said, and they all walked around the last corner to where the door was.

"Grindylow" Malfoy said in a clear voice to the door.

Immediately the door swung open, and the light from inside flooded onto them, making their eyes hurt from the sudden changing of brightness.

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**A/N: You like? Do tell!**

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	7. Chapter 7

(Hermione's POV)

**Recap: **"Grindylow" Malfoy said in a clear voice to the door.

Immediately the door swung open, and the light from inside flooded onto them, making their eyes hurt from the sudden changing of brightness.

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Chapter 7

(Hermione's POV)

Everyone watched as the door swung open to reveal four figures squinting away from the light and holding up their hands so that they could see around it.

"You're five minuets late" Ron said in a low, movie-live voice as he turned the lamp's head away from the door so that the people could sufficiently see into the room.

It had a very homey look to it, with a soft rug that took on the look of a wood floor and many chairs and couches of various styles circled around a large chestnut-colored oval table that shined with the reflection of a flickering fire.

Although Ron wouldn't have moved the lamp if he'd realized that one of the figures was none other than Draco Malfoy.

"D-Draco?" Hermione gasped in surprise. _'What on Earth is he doing here?!' _She thought.

The girl next to Hermione snapped her head up at the sound of the name.

"Hey guys!" Christina called, and appeared from behind Draco. She smiled at the tense hostility between the people in the room as Jen and Jake entered behind her

"These are our _friends_ Draco and Jake" She said as she gestured towards the two boys on either side of her. "Who did you bring?"

"I brought Seamus" Harry said robotically; never taking his eyes off Malfoy.

"Nevil" Hermione followed, and pointed to a chair to her left in which Nevil was occupying. He gave a small wave at them before returning his hand to his lap again.

"Luna" Ginny announced as well.

"Lavender" Ron said in a trying-to-be-causal way, while crossing his arms and leaning back against a wall

"Hey Draco!" Lavender wiggled her fingers at him which caused her shoulders to rise up as she tilted her head to the side a little.

Draco nodded in in acknowledgement of her presence. Everyone else in the room besides Lavender felt pretty awkward in the silence that followed, but Lavender was too busy smiling and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Oook…" Jen broke the silence. "So… when's Seamus going to get here?"

"In about 3 minuets" Harry replied, and there was the sound of paper being folded from where his hand was hidden in his cloak.

"Right-o!" Ron clapped his hands together "So what are we going to be playing Hermione?"

"Well," Hermione cupped her hands together and placed them in her lap while leaning forward a little.

Everyone else followed suit unconsciously and leaned in a little.

"I was thinking of something like a hide and seek game this time" she said with a smile on her glossed lips.

"Normal Hide and Seek? Or Wizard's Hide and Seek?" Draco asked.

Now all the attention was shifted to Draco as Ginny asked "What's Wizard's hide and seek?"

"Well," Malfoy explained and shifted his weight onto his right leg "It's basically the same principals, except that there are more then one person being found, and that the people hiding can move around. But the one major thing that makes it different, is that when you find someone, you stun them, then levitate them in the air so that when people go by they can see who has already been found. But, of coarse, the people who stun have to remember where they stunned them or it'll be a hard explanation for the professors in the morning, not to mention the fact that the person would be rather unhappy."

"I like it!" Ron said with a huge smile on his face, and everyone else was nodding excitedly at the idea too.

Suddenly there was a light knock on the door.

"Oops, I guess we forgot to give them the password too!" Ginny flustered, and ran towards the door to welcome the new arrivals.

"Ok, so we're all here now!" Lavender said excitedly.

"Ya, let's do this thing!" Jen exclaimed.

"Ok, but we have to decide who's going to be hiding first" Draco stated

"Well, how many people are usually supposed to hide Malfoy?" Harry questioned.

"About half" Draco replied.

"Ooo Ooo!" Lavender jumped up and down "lets have it girls against guys! It's exactly even!"

"Oh, I like that idea!" Jake added in. "Girls first though" He grinned.

"Ok, I suppose" Hermione said with mock exasperation, and walked over to the door to group together with the other girls.

"How much time do we have?" Jen turned to Malfoy.

"Exactly 2 Minuets…Go." He said while consulting his watch with a smile.

Ginny, Hermione, Jen, Luna, Christina, and Lavender all scrambled out the door as Hermione quickly informed Luna about what they were going to be doing.

"This could get interesting" Seamus laughed with the other boys when the girls had left.

"So are we considered to be on a team?" Nevil asked, who was quite hoping that he wouldn't have to stumble around the dark castle all by himself.

"Pretty much, although you mainly are trying to find more of the girls then anyone else." Draco imformed.

"Oh ok, so partners are a bad idea?" Nevil prodded

"Ya, I don't exactly recommend them."

Nevil mumbled something under his breath incoherently, but from the tone of it you could tell that he would have much rathered they all stay together.

There was silence for a little while, but it wasn't an uncomfortable one. It was merely the kind of silence you get when everyone in the room is deep in thought at the same time. As they all pondered there for a moment Jake leaned in and whispered something in Draco's ear. Draco laughed and nodded at him.

"Fine, but I call the mudblood, she's probably the best competition out there" Draco whispered back so that only Jake could hear it.

On the other side of the room Harry was whispering to Ron.

"So who do you think you'll go after first?"

"Probably Lavender, you know, because I brought her mate, and ya, it'd be weird if anyone else did, you know?"

"Uh, sure I do. But I reckon you should go after Hermione too right? Did you two fancy each other? Like last week?"

"Nah, I don't suppose so. It was more like a little crush if you ask me. I don't think anythings going to come of it." Ron replied.

At that point a ghostly green snake sprung out of Malfoys watch. It hovered and inch above his wrist as it followed the watch band. Once it had made a complete circle around it's circumference it dove back into the glass face of the watch as if it were a deep pool of water.

"Time's up" Draco said deviously.

The others reciprocated his expression as they all made it out the door.

"Ready or not here we come" Seamus joked in a hushed voice.

Once outside they took off down different hallways in search for their prey.

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She raced down the hall as fast as she could and skidded a little in order to make a sharp right turn down a different corridor. This made a soft 'squeak', which she immediately regretted. In order to not get caught she mustn't make a sound. Caught; by either teacher or student. She quickly took another left and continued to silently sprint down this hallway as well. She was getting tired and her hurried pace was starting to slow down, but a certain fear pushed her forward. A fear of the dark that she put behind her, and a fear of the dark in which was in front of her. It wasn't the dark its self which frightened her; it was what she couldn't see that did. Who knows who or what could be lurking around in these walls. Was someone watching her right now?

Her legs and lungs began to burn and ache, and at this point she knew that she needed to rest. Up ahead she could make out the faint outline of a statue. She stumbled up to it and dove behind it, gasping for air in which to relieve her lungs. Without the speed, and the wind that accompanied it, her long scarlet-tinted hair fell in front of her face. As she sat there she could feel the heat come to her as a result of her sudden exercise, and the heat was starting to make her sweat. This was confirmed when she whipped the back of her hand against her forehead and felt the slight precipitation.

After about two minuets she felt recovered and ready. She was about to leave from her hiding place when she heard footsteps at the end of the corridor. She instantly flung herself back into her crouched position and listened with all her might so as to hear who might be coming. It was hard to hear over the loud pounding of her pulse which now filled her ears, but she was just able to pick up a pair of slow footsteps shuffling her way. The person was saying something, apparently to themselves although she couldn't make out the words quite yet. As they inched closer and closer she could easily recognize the figure to be Nevil, who was trembling as he went by holding out his wand as if the paintings would jump out and attack him.

Eventually Nevil shuffled down the next hallway and she thought it safe enough to immerge from her hiding place. Once she was back on her feet again she headed back down the hallway she came from before in an attempt to get as far away as she could from the only boy she had located. She hadn't gone very far before she heard another pair of steps. Panic came to her as she searched desperately around her for a hiding place but there was none. The hallway was empty and long; even if she tried to run they would hear her and run after her. Besides the facts that if she went back then she would run into a petrified Nevil, who would probably curse her the second he could hear her. The steps were fast as if the person was running; running her way.

She was trapped, and before she could clearly think out a plan in her boggled mind, the steps were only 15ft away. She didn't have a clue as to what to do. She just stood there, frozen, in the middle of the hallway like a deer in the headlights; her emerald eyes wide and fearful. As the figure shot towards her she tried to see who it was, but to no success. The person spotted her and quickly grabbed her wrist and dragged her along with them without slowing down. She was practically pulled off her feet by the person, but wasn't quite sure what was going on so she didn't protest.

The person slammed on the brakes and bolted down a hallway to the left that she had forgotten about. The person continued to drag her down this corridor until they reached a classroom, in which the figure wrenched open the door and pulled her inside. They quickly closed the door behind them and moved to the far corner of the room.

"Ginny! What were you doing!" Hermione yell-whispered with a smile. "You looked like a statue when I found you!".

"I thought you were a boy!" Ginny explained in an equally quiet voice.

"Haha nope, but I was being followed by one" Hermione panted.

"You were?!"

"Ya, so keep it down for a little bit". Hermione put her index finger in front of her lips and glanced side-ways toward the wall.

Sure enough they heard footsteps go running past the room and down the hall. When they could no longer hear the boy they assumed he had continued walking and was far away enough to engage in conversation again.

"This is kind of fun" Ginny smiled over to Hermione.

"Hell yes it is! It's like super-spy missions, but not as serious. I mean, you are dead afraid of whose coming, but it's in a fun way too since, well, we're being tracked down by guys!" Hermione said excitedly.

" I know! This is so awesome! I really hope that Se-Harry is out looking for me!" Ginny said and then searched Hermione's face to see if she'd caught her slip-up; but she hadn't.

"We probably shouldn't stay together though since if we got caught, then that would be two girls down" Hermione thought out.

"Ok, good plan. I'll try to sneak out the front door while you take the secret passage at the back. Do you know where that is?" Ginny asked.

"Of coarse I know where it is" Hermione waved a hand at her. "Right-oh, well I guess I'll catch up with you later then!"

"Alright, Bye!" Ginny responded.

The two girls hugged then separated towards their own exits. With one glace back at Hermione, Ginny silently opened the front door and looked around. Whoever had been following them before was no where in sight. She crept out and closed the door behind her. She inched down the hall slowly with her arms in mid-air, forming a cautious and protected stance. As she turned the corner she found herself in a large spacious area that connected 3 hallways. It had a high ceiling that consisted of ornate carving and glass chandeliers. The third wall that did not protrude into a hallway held massive glass windows, which graciously welcomed the moons light inside.

The moon looked beautiful tonight and Ginny stood transfixed for a moment staring at it. The moon had a brilliant pearly glow to it, and it was the perfect night so that you could see every little crater it held. It was this distraction that caused a small 'swish' from the shadows to go undetected.

"Sorry about this" A low voice muttered from its concealed place in the darkness. "_Stupify!"_

Ginny just had time to turn half-way before she lost all ability to move what so ever. The figure immerged from the darkness, and Ginny was shocked once more to see Seamus standing in front of her.

From the way he was looking at her Ginny could tell that he had never been stunned before. To him she was more like petrified; not having the ability to see or hear him; like she was in some kind of coma.

He walked up to her slowly and examined her, circling around to observe every part of her. Then he looked straight into her eyes and sighed.

"How I wish you were mine. I'd be such a better boyfriend then Potter. I can only hope that you'll see that someday. But of coarse this wish is probably in vain because you are in love with him." He looked down. "Wow, saying it out loud makes it sound so permanent……..oh Ginny…"

As he said this he walked up to her and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. He stared at her for a little while longer; his blue eyes connecting with her green, before he levitated her into the air like he was told to do. He started to leave after this, but stopped and glanced back longingly at her for the last time before disappearing down the hallway to his left.

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**A/N: Sorry this took so long guys! I was waiting to post it until I had finished the hide and seek scene entirely but it was taking forever so here's some of it and I'll get the rest of it to you later )**


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